FRIDAY'S SCORES
@#3 Louisville 7,
Morehead State 2
#3 LOUISVILLE 7, MOREHEAD STATE 2
LOUISVLLE, Ky. - Junior right-hander Kyle Funkhouser allowed just two runs over seven innings, and the third-ranked Louisville baseball team posted a 7-2 victory over Morehead State on Friday night before a standing-room-only crowd of 5,143 in the NCAA Tournament opener at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The top-seeded Cardinals improve to 44-16 overall and 26-6 at home after going 25-5 in their first Atlantic Coast Conference season. The Eagles slip to 38-21 overall and 16-13 on the road after finishing 20-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference. MSU's overall wins and league victories are both school records.
Louisville advances to the winner's bracket final, against third-seeded Michigan, on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The Eagles fall to an elimination tilt, versus second-seeded Bradley, which begins the day at Noon. U of L is playing in its eighth NCAA Tournament in nine years, while MSU is making its first appearance since 1983.
Funkhouser, who most national web sites project as a first-round pick in next month's Major League Baseball Draft, improved to 8-5 this season and 26-9 in his Division I career. He scattered six hits and allowed just one walk while striking out six. The two-time All-American fired 74 strikes and 112 total pitches.
"Tonight was a great college baseball atmosphere," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "It was a lot different than a mid-week game here. We were excited about the opportunity and, outside of a few things, I thought we played pretty well. (Kyle) Funkhouser was very good. He handled us through the first five innings."
Sophomore right-hander Luke Humphreys, who suffered the loss, dropped to 7-3 this season and 12-5 as an Eagle. He yielded two walks, only three earned runs and seven hits while fanning a pair in six innings. Morehead State's No. 1 hurler recorded 57 strikes and 104 total pitches. It was just his first defeat since April 24.
"I thought we pitched pretty well, but hurt ourselves defensively," McGuire said. "Our shortstop and left fielder committed errors to open innings and both led to runs. We've had a pretty good fielding club all season. It's unfortunate that happened tonight, but we will move forward and get ready for tomorrow's contest."
Senior first baseman Kane Sweeney was the only Eagle to register more than one hit. He launched his team-leading 15th homer of the campaign -- a solo shot to right -- in the fourth and added an RBI single in the sixth. Senior catcher Chris Robinson set MSU's single-season hits record (99) with a single in the seventh.
Louisville raced out to a 4-0 advantage after three innings. The Eagles loaded the bases in the seventh and brought the go-ahead run to the plate with no outs, but Funkhouser registered three consecutive groundouts to escape the jam.
Freshman shortstop Devin Hairston led the Cardinals by going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and one RBI. The four base knocks marked his best Division I performance. Freshman right-hander Lincoln Henzman, who struck out two, notched his second save of the campaign by retiring all six batters he faced.
Louisville is hosting an NCAA Regional for the third straight season and the fifth time in seven years. The Cardinals also extended their winning streak to nine in postseason contests at Jim Patterson Stadium. U of L has won 40-or-more affairs in four consecutive years and hit that plateau in eight of the last nine seasons.
"Louisville is a good club, and you have to give them credit," McGuire added. "They are a No. 3 national seed for a reason and play well at home. We didn't execute to my liking in a few spots, but that doesn't take anything away from U of L. They got great pitching from two guys and had some timely hits tonight."
Morehead State has still improved by 22 wins in just two seasons. The Eagles went 16-40 in their first year under McGuire. MSU entered the day with 27 victories in its last 34 contests.